Final fall enrollment exceeds 40,000

There are 40,109 students attending UW–Madison this fall, a 0.2 percent decrease from the 40,196 students enrolled in Fall 1997.

The total includes 27,808 undergraduates, a 1 percent increase over last year, and 8,524 graduate students, a 3.3 percent decrease compared to last fall. The undergraduate total includes 5,596 new first-year students.

Among the university’s four professional schools, there are 2,069 students: 842 in the Law School, 600 in the Medical School, 321 in the School of Veterinary Medicine and 306 in the School of Pharmacy. There were 1,910 professional students last fall.

Minority students total 3,748, compared to 3,699 minority students enrolled last fall. There are 567 minority students among new first-year undergraduates, an 8.2 percent increase over Fall 1997. Most of the increase is among the university’s targeted ethnic groups, which include African-American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American and Southeast Asian students. Together, these new first-year students total 352, an 18.1 percent increase over the Fall 1997 total of 298.

The number of new Native American students increased from 17 last year to 39 this year, while the number of Hispanic/Latino students rose from 128 to 156. Southeast Asian students increased from 34 to 44, while the number of African-American students dropped slightly, from 119 to 113.

International students total 3,349, compared to 3,495 last fall, a 4.2 percent decrease. There are 20,823 female students on campus this fall, 0.9 percent increase over last year, and 19,286 male students, a 1.4 percent decrease from last fall.